"fire makes no sound":​audio performance by julian hou​Governing the Effects of Retrograde Part II

Date: Friday, 19 May 2017Time: 7:00pm

This audio performance takes place on the rooftop of Things and explores ancient Chinese court music as survived through Japanese Gagaku and its qualities of flute registers representing various mythological characters - the base and bodily human, the heavens, and the dragon that goes between the two. The different registers here assume contemporary characters: Bad Breath, Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum), and the Smoke that travels between. Scripted spoken language, paired with digitally composed music, result in discomfiting layers of computer-generated voice and swelling synthesizers. The audio is unsettled and shifts between a slightly cool, therapeutic tone to something less ponderous and more cunning.

Four costumes are displayed as backdrops to the performance. Made through quilted and applique patterns, these bespoke garments are derived from architectural and mechanical infrastructure reminiscent of 1980s High-Tech design, which respond to ideological representations of late capitalist ideas around transparency of capital and the ornamentation of infrastructure.

Julian Hou’s practice encompasses the production of images, textiles, video, sound, music and performance. He is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Fire Makes No Sound is a 221A commission, supported through a residency, as part of the Vancouver Special: Ambivalent Pleasures public program in 2017. Produced with Kara Hansen and Shizen Jambor.

Things that can happen sincerely thanks the Chu Collection and British Columbia Arts Council for the support of the Governing the Effect of Retrograde residency and programming.